


#AreTheyAren'tThey

by ZombieCyborgAssassin



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom, Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-24 14:18:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16176812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZombieCyborgAssassin/pseuds/ZombieCyborgAssassin
Summary: For the last six months Darcy, PR for the Avengers, has been preparing the world for some news that could make or break the team.





	#AreTheyAren'tThey

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Livvy_Nicklaus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Livvy_Nicklaus/gifts).



> I own nothing.  
> Thanks to [Livvy_Nicklaus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Livvy_Nicklaus/pseuds/Livvy_Nicklaus) for beta!  
> If you like this, check out my other fics, and my website for original content.  
> Debut novel “Once Upon A… What?” coming soon.

“Ha! Take that magic man!” Darcy shouted as she turned Princess Peach’s Kart into around the corner, having just tossed a banana peel at exactly the right moment to have Loki’s Yoshi go careening off the Rainbow road. 

“I’m not sure that’s sanctioned under the ru-”

“Sanction  _ this _ Lokster!” She hollered and watched Yoshi go flying again, only to be plucked back up to be placed back onto the colourful road. “I’m going to be wearing your helmet all week. In meetings, in my  _ thousands _ of instagram pics, even while I poop! Mwahahahahaah!”

Bucky looked up from the iPad screen he was fiddling with and mouthed the word ‘poop’ to himself as Loki made a disgusted face. 

“There was never an agreement-” 

“Psht! Agreement, Shagreement.”

Loki sighed and did his best to keep his thumbs on the correct buttons on the tiny flimsy control unit, his player fighting against the red arrow he’d been dropped onto. “And what shall I get should I win, annoying mortal girl?” 

Darcy rolled her eyes and grinned at Bucky. “Don't pretend you don’t like me Loki, we all know you adore me.” 

“I certainly do not. You are merely an annoying gnat, no more.”

This time even Bucky rolled his eyes. “Listen, Pal, you’re not foolin’ anyone. You’ve adopted her like you’re some kind of cat.”

“I have not.”

Darcy snorted from her spot on the communal couch in the tower, “Uh, yeah you have Lokes. I’m your person. It's because I can tell when you’re lying… like now. I’d have thought it would have pissed you off, but clearly it has endeared me to you. And now here you are, about to lose your helmet for a week!” 

Loki quickly glanced at the screen, “Wha-?” only to watch Princess Peach cross the finish line, while his screen was covered in black ink. He frowned as Darcy started cheering, throwing the remote down onto the coffee table and folding his arms across his chest, mumbling. “It doesn’t even slightly look like the Bifrost.” 

“Liar. Also Jane took photos the last time she was there, its identical. Now hand it over, Loki!” She demanded, making grabby hands at him. He frowned harder, but she knew he was just pouting. 

Bucky bit his lip and hid his face behind his hair to stop the troubled dark god from seeing. He was the only other person in the Tower that really got where Bucky was coming from. And though they only started spending time together because Steve didn't trust Loki alone in the tower with Darcy, the two former villains became thick as thieves… a fact that had legitimately made Steve jealous and pouty. So he had more incentive to keep the friendship with the god.

Her tablet beeped at them as she started strutting around the room like she was on a runway, her hands caressing the gold horns that only made Bucky realise how phalic the helmet was, something to remember should they ever see battle together. Bucky watched as she picked up the gadget, tapped a few buttons before staring at it blankly and then getting really angry. He’d only seen her this angry one other time. It wasn't a good day for the Avengers. Clint and Tony had spent the week hiding, or looking like naughty children in her presence. Needless to say, this wasn’t going to be good for whoever ruined her day. 

She lifted her eyes to Loki who, while he didn't move, did seem to shrink in on himself, and then to Bucky who stared back at her knowing he’d done nothing to warrant her ire. 

“Can you believe this shit?” she growled at him, and handed him her StarkTab. 

He looked down at the tabloid photo of Stevie and the Storm kid from the Fantastic Four exiting the Baxter Building. The heading said, “Storm dating Cap? Are they just that into themselves?” Bucky looked back up to Darcy, his need to laugh out loud curbed by her anger. Right, she was in charge of public relations for the team, this was going to be a lot of work for her to fix.   
He glanced to Loki, who had leaned to the side to see the screen, and then back at the furious woman in front of him. “It’s not that bad, right?”

She stared at him a moment and then huffed. “Look, Bucky, I get that you and the rest of the team don't care what the world thinks of you and how you live your lives, but the ability to continue to fight the good fight depends on how they feel about you all. It's totally a popularity contest and that sadly includes morality.” She took the tablet from him and began typing away on the device while continuing to talk. “The good name of Captain America in particular is huge. But seriously, I’m more pissed about the fact that this might upset his relationship with Sam.” 

Bucky blinked, shocked, and opened his mouth but was stopped by Loki who shook his head. Bucky frowned at him and Loki just gave a small reassuring smile, which he only ever gave him, Thor or Darcy and only in private. Bucky licked his lip and listened as Darcy went on.

“I mean, I know the world doesn't know it yet, but I’ve been carefully crafting this ‘outing of Cap and the Falcon’ thing for over six months now. Their interview with Mario Lopez, following their pride march, was perfect and gave  _ just _ enough of a hint at how close the two are and the hashtag ‘are-they-arent-they’ has been trending ever since.” She looked up at Bucky, a little manic gleam mixed with pride in her eye.   
She worked hard and she did a good job, he would admit that. She’d practically performed miracles with Bucky’s and Loki’s relationship with the public and all in just one week, continued to actually.   
Loki watched amused as it all clicked in Bucky’s head, Darcy having sat down and typing like crazy on her tablet missed the super soldiers face going bright red. Loki was amused by the way he tried to keep silent and his face straight. 

When Bucky looked over at Loki for an explanation, Loki shot his eyes at Darcy and then tiredly shrugged. Bucky narrowed his eyes at him, but Loki raised his hands in supplication. 

“Stop with your weird telepathic conversation, guys, its creepy,” she muttered, never looking up from her tablet. 

An lilting Irish voice cut through the silence between the three that followed. “Prince Odinson, Sergeant Barnes, Miss Lewis, the Avengers debrief has finished and they are coming up. Sir would like to know what you want from the Thai place.” 

“The usual,” answered Loki and Bucky at the same time, while Darcy looked up at the ceiling and screwed her lips to the side while she thought, the helmet shifting slightly. “Hmm, how about the 23, the 12 and is Steve willing to share some of his copious number 3s, FRIDAY?” 

The AI’s feminine voice took on a tone of amusement, “ I’ve been told that he gets extra just so he can, Miss Lewis.” 

Darcy grinned and nodded, “Okay then, perfect. How long till the team get in?” 

At that, the elevator doors whoosed open and out came some very tired looking heroes. Bucky watched as Steve, followed by Sam, made a bee line for Darcy and the rest of the team went to any open space on in the sunken lounge they could. Clint, though, just lay down on the floor. 

While everyone was grumbling about how hungry or tired or annoyed at Fury they were, Bucky leaned toward Loki and whispered, “why did you stop me from correcting her?” 

Loki raised an eyebrow at him and then flicked his eyes pointedly at the woman in question. Bucky looked over to see Steve sitting on the arm of the chair she was on, making ‘heart eyes’ at her, as she herself would put it, and Sam looking so done with the two of them from his spot on the floor where her feet would be if she didn't have her feet tucked up under her. 

Bucky looked back at Loki and raised his brows, expecting an answer.   
Loki rolled his eyes and whispered, “this is getting ridiculous. This way the situation will get sorted and the rest of us won't have to watch this… this mess continue.” 

Bucky glared at Loki, “this is gonna humiliate her. I’m gonna let her fall like that.” 

Loki glared back, “She’s already humiliating herself by not seeing what's right in front of her. This puts an end to it.” a smirk quirked at the corner of his mouth. “However, I do believe you and I could make it so that it would be Steve and Sam that take the fall, not our darling Darcy.” 

Bucky looked over at Sam who had laid his head on the coffee table in front of him and was complaining about the wait for food and a big grin lit his face. “I can live with that.”

The two shared a conspiratorial grin and watched Darcy continue to work furiously on her tablet all the while being admired by a bruised and bloodied Steve. 

It was when the food arrived and was being handed out, that Darcy heard a satisfied sigh and put her tablet away that she really noticed that everyone had come back. She did a quick visual scan of the team, checking for injuries, and when she found only superficial ones at most, she grinned. 

“What were you workin’ on, Doll?” Steve asked, sitting at the coffee table as he used his chopsticks to move some of his food over onto her plate. Bucky and Loki shared a look and watched silently, ignoring the rest of the conversations at the table.

“Oh, TMZ decided that they were going to make it look like your meeting with the Fantastic Four was more than it was.” she answered as she gathered a mouthful of noodles. 

Steve frowned and looked around at her. “What were they saying it was?”

Darcy rolled her eyes and finished her mouthful. “They said you and Johnny were dating, which was going to make a mess of all my hard work, so I dealt with it.” 

Steve stared at her a moment. “Me and Storm? Dating?” Bucky had to keep from spitting his food across the table. He hasn't heard Steve's voice hit such a high pitch since he took a hit to the family jewels in that fight with Jimmy O’Reily back in ‘38.

Darcy obviously found it funny too and smirked down at him over her plate. “Yeah, don't sweat it Cap, it’ll practically already be dead news.”

Steve blinked and asked “how?”

She replied with a grin that had more sharp edges than all of Bucky and Loki’s knives combined. “I looked up live footage of the fight from this morning and liked and shared a great pic of you and Falcon with the comment ‘Are there wedding bells in the air?’” Bucky nearly choked on his food and Loki froze like statue. “It was  _ so  _ cute too! You had this look on your face, and Sam was shooting something behind you. Seriously Steve, Hugo Boss has sent an email about dressing you two for the day!”

The room went really quiet and every hero in the room was staring at her in stunned silence by the end of her speech. After a moment, Steve’s dropped jaw twitched and Tony, Bucky, Loki, Clint, and (of all people) Nat bagan cackling. Though Bucky and Loki were on the offensive to keep the focus on Steve and Sam. the rest of the team soon followed with the laughter.

“Congratulations, Captain, I do hope you will be happy together,” Loki damn near giggled to the crimson soldier.   
Meanwhile, Bucky was waggling his eyebrows at Sam, “Hey Wilson, you top or bottom?” Sam, long used to the antagonistic nature of Bucky, merely flipped him the bird. Pun intended.

Tony, still hooting with laughter was trying to say something to Steve, that no one would understand, all they could understand was ‘Dad’, ‘so much sense’, and ‘vibrating thing in his old WW2 files.’

Natasha managed to calm down, though she couldn't shift the broad grin even when she tried. “Steve, are you telling me I’ve been trying to set you up with Beth from the little cafe this whole time for nothing?”

Bucky saw Darcy’s confusion and felt awful, but kept laughing anyway, because honestly it would draw attention and also laughing at Steve was a century long gig that he wasn't going to give up any time soon.

When Thor turned to Loki and asked “was he not trying to woo Lady Darcy?” Bucky saw Darcy turn ashen in realisation, but as planned, the God of Mischief was steps ahead of everyone else.   
He just smirked and said, “I do believe so, Brother, though he did such a poor job that he made her believe he was in a relationship with Samuel. I do believe Sergeant Barnes was understating his inability with women when he said he was, what was it, James? ‘Shit with Dames’?” when Bucky nodded, a little girlish giggle escaping him at Darcy’s snort of laughter and Steve's head dropped into his hands. 

Darcy began giggling and looked to Bucky, “Are you telling me he’s not boning Sam and has  _ actually _ been trying to show interest in me? Like, romantically?” She squinted down at Steve's vibrant red neck. “Why do you two do everything like a married couple then? I was expecting you to show up to team dinner one night and tell us you eloped.” The team was instantly riled back up at this, so loud that no one could hear his response. Tony was practically sobbing into his plate, eyes red and swollen shut with crying and Nat let out a bark of laughter that startled even Bucky. 

Relieved that the team wasn't going to give Darcy a hard time about her misinterpretation about his interest, and that she wasn't going to be humiliated, Bucky let go and was leaning into Loki and just let the laughter roll through him like the man he once was, back when innocent laughter was commonplace and he felt free enough to do it.

Though it all stopped instantly at Darcy’s exclaimed “OH MY GOD!” Darcy picked up her tablet and began scrubbing the tears of laughter off her face, though they kept flowing. 

“What is it, Doll?” Bucky choked out through bouts of laughter.

“I have spent six months getting the public ready for Gay Cap, I have to undo it all! The fan sights are going to go insane…” She glanced down at Steve, who looked completely gobsmacked. “How do you feel about telling the world that you’re Bi?”

Steve’s shoulders dropped, and being the sap Bucky knew him to be, replied with, “If it makes your job easier, sure, Doll.” 

 

The end.

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is the breakfast of champions!  
> If you like this, subscribe, and check me out on my socials for news on my upcoming novel “Once Upon A… What?” 
> 
>  
> 
> [www.KatherineHenshaw.com](https://www.katherinehenshaw.com)
> 
> Instagram - [@Kat_Henshaw](https://www.instagram.com/kat_henshaw/)
> 
> Twitter - [@Kat_Henshaw](https://twitter.com/Kat_Henshaw?s=09)
> 
> Facebook - [Katherine Henshaw Author](https://www.facebook.com/KatherineHenshawAuthor/)


End file.
